Calls to send arson squad to WA’s north after 2 million hectares burnt in deliberately lit bushfires

Pastoralists are calling on the WA government to send the police arson squad to the state’s north in a bid to crack down on deliberately lit bushfires.

A survey undertaken by the Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen’s Association found more than 2.3 million hectares of land had been burnt across the two regions since 2020 as a result of arson.

Chief executive Bron Christensen said the fires had caused more $44 million in damage to land and infrastructure.

But she said the key problem raised in the survey was the lack of governmental response to fires on cattle stations. 

“By the time the fire is lit and [station managers are] actually reporting it to the local police, there’s nothing [they] can do about it,” Ms Christensen said.

“We are wishing to speak to the government and to the police minister about seeing an arson force present up here in the Kimberley and the Pilbara on an a seasonal basis.

“I think it would be a good deterrent, as well as actually maybe being able to apprehend and prosecute some of the people.”

Ms Christenen said the association had contacted Police Minister Paul Papalia and WA Police with its request.

A spokesperson for Mr Papalia said the matter had been referred to WA Police, who have been contacted by the ABC for comment.

Ms Christensen said more than 4,000 cattle were estimated to have died in northern WA bushfires in the past three years.

She said the blazes also represented a significant threat to native wildlife and the area’s people and towns.

“An unexpected wind direction change and we could be facing not just a catastrophe, but a major tragedy,” Ms Christensen said.

The association, which engaged more than 20 producers, found the majority were “very concerned” about recent arson on their land, with some properties “basically burnt out completely”.

Large fires suspicious

Department of Fire and Emergency Service (DFES) figures show more than 10.9 million hectares has been burnt in the Kimberley by bushfires this year, with 46 per cent of them treated as suspicious.

The statistics in the Pilbara are lower, with 27 per cent of 471 bushfires considered deliberately lit, and both regions represent a downward trend.

“The proportion of deliberately lit or suspicious fires this year in the Kimberley and Pilbara is lower compared to the same period in recent years,” a DFES spokesperson said.

It was no consolation for Gogo Station manager Chris Townes, who told the ABC in August arson was a constant battle, and called on the state government to take more action against those who light fires illegally. 

“You see down south, and there’s a little fire down there, and there’s bombers and planes putting them out and it’s only 500 hectares,” Mr Townes said.

“They go find the people who lit that fire and they prosecute them.”

‘Passing the buck’

Member for Mining and Pastoral Neil Thomson said he had lost faith in the government’s desire to respond to the issue of arson in the north.

“Unfortunately the government just seems to want to pass the buck,” he said.

“I did raise this issue in parliament near the end of this year and it just got passed from one department to the other.”

Mr Thomson said he supported the cattleman’s association’s call to employ the state’s arson squad in the regions feeling the impact.

“To go and set fire to the bush is a criminal activity, so the government should be getting the arson squad involved and doing some investigation and charging people,” he said.

But, like many in the Kimberley and Pilbara, he said he believed measures needed to be taken to prevent the crimes from happening in the first place.

“There must be some education as well in the communities to make sure people understand the consequence of setting fire to the to the landscape, it’s just not on,” he said.